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Legacy of a bullrider and rope-maker

Tue, 08/28/2018 - 11:00am

Sheryl Ponce, staff writer

Pro-rodeo bullrider, PRCA number 166, Dick Carr began his career at age 10 when he was determined to make rodeo his lifetime career. He moved with his family close to the Beutler Brothers ranch and was in awe of the lifestyle. He watched the cowboys and dreamed of running the circuit.

“From my very first rodeo as a young Oklahoma lad, I told my dear mother and loving father that I wanted to be a cowboy. No, I did not want to be just any cowboy, I wanted to be Buckin’ Horse and Bull Ridin’ Oklahoma Cowboy. From that early age, my every thought and my fondest dreams took me to rodeos all over the place,” Carr wrote his testimony in the “The Conqueror, a newsletter for the overcomer” in 1996.

His thoughts and feeling remain true since the beginning, especially with his faith in Jesus Christ. His mother taught him how to pray as a small child, regardless of the situation. He has been sober for the past 32 years and attributes that to his Lord and Savior.

He continued to explain, “At the 1983 National Finals Rodeo, Lane Frost invited me to Cowboy Church to hear Glenn Smith share the precious and powerful Word of God.”

He is known for his bull riding ropes and thanks the Lord for his ability to have the talent for the art. His grandfather taught him how to “plait” when he was ten-years-old. He began to make the ropes and they were noticed by rodeo cowboys since 1949 when he was just 15. Carr still makes the ropes, which each one takes about five days to complete.

“I have made ropes for 32 World Champions. My grandfather was a mule skinner from Tennessee, who started me. From there, I tried different ways and came up with what I found works the best,” Carr said.